TOWN OF CHARLESTOWN
SELECTBOARD MEETING
APRIL 5, 2006
Selectboard Present: Jon LeClair, Steven Neill, Brenda Ferland
Staff Present: David Edkins, Administrative Assistant
Keith Weed, Highway Superintendent
David Duquette, Water and Sewer Superintendent
Edward Smith, Police Chief
CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Chairman Jon LeClair called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
POLICE DEPARTMENT: Police Chief Ed Smith introduced Officer Pat Connors as a part-time officer. He lives in Charlestown and works full time at the Springfield Correctional Facility
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING(S):
Steve Neill moved to approve the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of March 15, 2006, as printed. Brenda Ferland seconded the motion. With all in favor, the motion carried.
Steve Neill moved to approve the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard meeting of March 15, 2006, as printed. Brenda Ferland seconded the motion. With all in favor, the motion carried.
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:
Highway Department: Keith Weed reported that the paving on Main Street is on the State list but won’t go out for bid until the monies are appropriated in June. The painting of the crosswalks and stripping are now up to the Town. The vendor from last year will hold the same price and will come back in August or September; the Selectboard approved having this done. All the markings on Main Street on the catch basins are the town’s work. They have been graveling the roads. The vendor from last year will hold the same prices for street sweeping; the Selectboard approved having this done. Keith Weed asked the Selectboard to look at the storage buildings at the Highway garage as they are falling over. One option might be to have the power company put in some poles
then the buildings can be secured to the poles.
He asked if the bidding process could be waived to get the dry bridge fixed as soon as possible. Daniels Construction can start the work within a week for the price of $38,552.00. Keith Weed talked with Bob Berry of the State DOT as they would like to see 2” solid oak rather than pre-treated wood on the deck. The old decking wood will be available to use on the trails.
Brenda Ferland moved to accept the proposal from Daniels Construction to repair the dry bridge for the amount of $38,552.00. Steve Neill seconded the motion. With all in favor, the motion was approved.
Keith Weed is working with three companies on the gravel crushing. He thinks it will cost about $1.00/ton more than last year.
Dave Edkins had some residents from Baldwin Court talk to him about a lot of traffic especially now that the bridge is closed. People do not realize it is a dead end street. Keith Weed will try to install some appropriate signage.
Transfer Station: The new loading dock along the building has been completed. Their first load of cardboard has now gone out in bulk.
Water and Sewer Departments: Dave Duquette reported that they started reading meters on Monday. The Consumer Confidence Reports are done. The fire hydrants were delivered last week. Summer jobs have been set up. Tomorrow morning St. Pierre will be digging for Mr. Jackson on Northwest Street so the road will be closed most of the day to residential traffic. Service vehicles will be able to go down the street but it will be one way. An ad was put in the newspaper for part-time help and nine applications were received, none of which was particularly impressive. If anyone knows someone who is looking for a summer job let him know. The State Permit for the Springfield Road project was approved except for the traffic plan. The State Police waived their wanting
to do the job so the Town officers can do it. It was agreed to set a Workshop Meeting for Monday, April 17th, at 3:30 pm to work on the Water Ordinance. Dave Duquette distributed copies of the “Water Quality Report 2005” for Charlestown and North Charlestown. The Town will have to start doing asbestos sampling soon.
Police Department: Police Chief Ed Smith advised that the department has been more active with the weather warm-up. They worked with the Town of Langdon Police Department on speed enforcement on the Langdon Road. They are now doing a tally on the number of open investigations and have 40 that are active now. Todd Lyles had surgery and is out of work. Chief Smith is waiting for a call back from Caterpillar regarding the generator; after that he can work with Dave Edkins to get the necessary electrical work out for bid. Dave Duquette would like to have all the generators under one service contract. Chief Smith is waiting for the Department of Agriculture to get back to him regarding the posting of roads. He went to the Town Hall meeting in Claremont on underage
drinking and is once again working with the United Way on their annual needs assessment.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Coons Drive: Travis Royce is a resident of Coons Drive, a private road off South Hemlock. The residents have been investigating their options for road maintenance and are exploring the possibility of upgrading the road to Town standards and having the Town take it over. Dave Edkins suggested they talk to Keith Weed, who suggested the Highway Advisory Board, who then suggested the Board of Selectmen. It involves some waivers but the two main issues involve the length of the road (1480 feet) and the requirement for paving. There are six residences that are a part of the original subdivision and one residence that has a right to use the road. Keith Weed noted that the present roadbed is not buildable and it would cost about $100,000 for materials alone. Dave Edkins said there
is a provision in the Statutes where the road could be brought up to town specifications and then the town could assess the lots for cost of making the improvements over a ten-year period. Mr. Royce said that is the only way the residents could afford this cost. It would probably require a Town vote. Keith Weed, Brenda Ferland and Jon LeClair would like to stay consistent with the language on roads as it is now because there are more developments coming before the Planning Board. Steve Neill would have a problem changing the rules for one road. Travis Royce said the residence with the right-of-way allows their property to drain down the driveway onto Coons Drive. He wanted to talk to the Police Chief about the kids going up and down Coons Drive, doing damage to the road with dirt bikes. This is also a noise issue. Keith Weed was aware of this issue because it was a problem when they were doing culvert work in that area. Chief
Smith will check on his jurisdictional authority given that this is a private road.
New Resident: Herb Fajors introduced himself. He recently moved into the former Baker house on Scott’s Drive. The Selectboard welcomed him back to New Hampshire.
Fred Poisson: Fred Poisson provided an up-date on the Main Street demolition. More than one-half is gone and he expects that the rest will be removed by the end of next week. They did some work there today.
Town Assessment: Cliff Stark advised that the assessor was in his neighborhood on Monday; the lady was very polite and did a very nice job.
SELECTBOARD COMMENT:
Health and Human Services: Brenda Ferland advised that the Home Health Care & Community Services organization would like to construct a memorial park in the area behind the Bakery Building; they are looking at both Charlestown and Walpole. There is a question of where the generator will be placed. Steve Neill felt that if they submit a proposal, the Selectboard will look at it but the group will have to maintain such a facility.
Silsby Library: It was noted that the library window has been repaired and reinstalled.
OLD BUSINESS:
There was no Old Business to come before this meeting.
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION – Payroll, Purchase Orders, Vouchers, Warrants, Abatements, Etc. The Payroll and Check Vouchers were approved and signed.
Purchase Orders: The Selectboard approved and signed the following Purchase Orders: 1) Fire Department –State of New Hampshire $1,123.47; 2) Fire Department –Ossipee Mountain Electronics for pagers $2,874.00; 3) Fire Department –Flasko Enterprises for foam $300.00; 4) Transfer Station –North East Recovery Association for A/C freon removal $304.00; 5) Highway Department –Osgood, Inc. for a sander $3,149.00; 6) Highway Department –Town Line Equipment for the tractor & attachments $123,211.79; 7) Highway Department –Quill for supplies $374.47; 8) Highway Department –American Plate Glass for windows $576.50; 9) Highway – Gateway Motors for the 2007 Ford Truck $49,000.00; 10) Water/Sewer Departments –North East Mechanical for pumps $22,795.00;
11) Water/Sewer Departments –EOS Research for Summit Hill controls $5,860.00; 12) Water/Sewer Departments –Nickerson Electric for Summit Hill $12,500.00; 13) Water/Sewer Departments – Rotondo Pre-Cast for Summit Hill building $20,209.00; 14) Water Department – Smith & Allen for contract work $15,060.00.
Dave Duquette distributed the 2006 Sewer Line Replacement figures to-date for the review of the Selectboard. There was discussion relative to several sewer line projects.
Vouchers: The Selectboard approved and signed one voucher.
Abatements: The Selectboard approved and signed the following Abatements: 1) Christopher Stanley for buildings of no value on the Sam Putnam Road $248.30; 2) Tax Abatement $414.48; and 3) Tax Abatement $497.38.
Disabled Exemption: One Disabled Exemption request was put on-hold pending more information on the application.
Notice of Intent to Cut Wood: The Selectboard approved and signed a Notice of Intent to Cut Wood on the Langdon Road.
Notices of Intent to Excavate: The Selectboard approved and signed four Notices of Intent to Excavate for St. Pierre, Inc. and one notice for Norm Beaudry.
Elderly Exemptions: The Selectboard denied one request for an Elderly Exemption because they did not qualify. One request was granted.
Veterans Exemption: The Selectboard approved one request for a Veterans Exemption.
Tax Credit: The Selectboard approved one Tax Credit request.
Junkyard Permits: The Selectboard approved the following annual renewals to Operate Junkyards for: 1) Melvin Wilson and Kenneth Wilson; 2) Class A Auto and Truck; and 3) Kevin Blaine.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Street Lights: A request was received from David Carter for the town to take over the street light on Carter Lane. It serves four families; the cost is about $10/month. The Selectboard asked Keith Weed to check to see if the pole is in the town right-of-way and, if so, they will approve this request.
First American Real Estate Tax Service: A letter was received from the First American Real Estate Tax Service relative to the new tax maps. They requested a new cross-reference file to keep track of their homeowners’ records. Dave Edkins said they will have to send this request to Cartographic Associates but they will require the town’s authority to release the information.
Brenda Ferland moved to give permission to Cartographic Associates to release the information as requested to First American Real Estate Tax Service at no cost to the town. Jon LeClair seconded the motion. With Brenda Ferland and Jon LeClair in favor, the motion was approved. Steve Neill was opposed.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
Bakery Building Windows: Dave Edkins put together a summary of the proposals to re-do the windows in the Bakery Building. The Selectboard will review the information.
Heritage Commission: The Heritage Commission would like to see the two chimneys retained in their original form on the old Town Hall building. Dave Edkins asked Jancewicz & Sons for a proposal on rebuilding those two chimneys but they are in rough shape. Keith Weed mentioned the roof over the walkway into the cellar being in terrible condition; Dave Edkins will obtain an estimate on that as well.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Conservation Commission – Steve Neill: The Conservation Commission met on February 20th. Green-Up Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 6th; May 7th will be the rain date. It begins at 8:00 am at the Fire Station with snacks available and lunch will be available back at the Fire Station. They would like to use one Town truck as in past years. The “Adopt a Highway Program” is done by a few different organizations in Town. Their clean-up day is April 22nd or April 29th. There was discussion about the ROTC and Track Team helping them to do the southern part of Town; they will probably need some traffic enforcement. Chief Smith will check with Dick Holmes on the date. The State trucks picks up
these collections. The trail maps are ready to go to print; approximate cost will be $4-to-$5/each.
CEDA – Jon LeClair: CEDA will not meet until next Tuesday.
Solid Waste Committee – Jon LeClair: The Solid Waste Committee has not met since his last report.
Planning Board – Brenda Ferland reported that the Planning Board met last night. The application from Robert & Kelly Scott d/b/a R&K Towing was accepted as complete with three conditions; they will be back at the next meeting. St. Pierre, Inc. came in for a preliminary consultation and brought in a revised plan for the North Charlestown Village project. They talked with DOT and Town people and did some re-designing. They were complimented on their plan. Philip and Barbara Haynes requested a preliminary consultation on a two-lot subdivision on Morningside Lane. They were unable to attend but Dave Edkins explained the proposal. The Board suggested that the same objective could be achieved with easements as the proposal presented an extremely unusual lot
configuration.
Steve Neill attended the Planning Board meeting of March 21st when Brenda Ferland was unable to be there. The Planning Board approved a sign for TSV Tennis, Inc. and approved a sign for the West’s Hillbilly Hot Tubs. They gave approval to Donald Jackson for the two-lot subdivision on Northwest Street. Robert & Kelly Scott d/b/a R&K Towing was tabled until the next meeting.
Heritage Commission – Brenda Ferland: The Heritage Commission will not meet until the end of the month.
Ambulance Department – Steve Neill: The Ambulance Department will not meet until next week.
NON-PUBLIC SESSION – RSA 91-A:3 II:
Brenda Ferland moved to enter Non-public Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II (a) Personnel, (c) Reputations and (e) Pending Litigation. Steve Neill seconded the motion and, on a roll call with all in favor, the motion carried. The time was 8:38 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Regina Borden, Recording Secretary
Approved,
Jon B. LeClair, Chair Steven A. Neill Brenda L. Ferland
(Note: These are unapproved Minutes. Corrections, if necessary, may be found in the Minutes of the April 18th, 2006, Selectboard meeting.)
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